


it's okay because it's the two of us

by lumalaya



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Confessions, Developing Friendships, Enemies to Lovers, Feelings Realization, Fluff, M/M, Physics, Poetry, Student Council, Summer, jk not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 07:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20336041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumalaya/pseuds/lumalaya
Summary: “I think you should run for president.”Soonyoung is smiling at him softly, his expression completely sincere. Jihoon is expecting a but, something to follow it up that’s supposed to make him feel uneasy.“What?”“Don’t get me wrong, I want to run. But I want to run with you.”





	it's okay because it's the two of us

Jihoon and Soonyoung’s last ever elections and last year in high school have finally arrived.

Junior year is almost ending, and although they’re swamped with schoolwork and deadlines, Jihoon almost wants to cry out of relief. Some may say that things are happening too fast, that it feels like only yesterday that Jihoon and Soonyoung had first entered the student council as shy sophomores. But to Jihoon, it feels like _ eons _ ago.

Honestly, Jihoon knows he’s in need of a break after this school year. Since their council president Jeonghan has rarely ever been present (always missing flag ceremonies, being late to meetings, only staying in the student council room to sleep through study period), Jihoon has often questioned why he’s the vice president if he’s going to step in all the time anyway. That’s why, even after months of being asked by students and teachers alike, he’s still so hesitant to run for president in his final year.

Well, there’s also Soonyoung. Since they had entered student council at the same time and have been officers for the longest amount of time compared to their other batchmates, they’ve always been compared by others. On top of that, they’re usually competing to be at the top of their class whenever they have subjects together. Even before they had entered student council, they’d been notorious for being nearly all the teachers’ favorites.

As elections slowly approach, more and more people want to know which one of them, if not both, is going to run for president.

It’s awkward at first, since more students expect the vice president to take up the burdensome position rather than the auditor. However, with Soonyoung’s popularity due to his inherent assertiveness and charming personality, almost just as many people encourage him to go for it.

Doubtful of himself, Jihoon keeps putting off the decision. He knows how much of a hassle campaign preparations can be and that his time is running out, but he ignores that, focusing on schoolwork instead. Nearly every day, he’s greeted with the inevitable _ “Are you running this year?” _ and each time, he shrugs. The truth is, he can’t stop thinking about it.

Even the other student council officers ask him themselves, trying with all their might to motivate him. When he offers his usual response, the noncommittal shrug, they ignore it.

“You should go for it, Jihoon! Only you could be able to boss us around.” Seokmin says lightly.

“You were pretty much already the president this year anyway, so what would be different?” Seungkwan jokes in a hushed tone, which makes Jihoon hit him, but laugh nonetheless.

The days go by and weirdly enough, Jihoon starts to think about senior year instead of elections. He imagines himself as president, all the while juggling college applications and his own studies. It’s terrifying, yet there’s that sense of excitement that he feels envisioning it. Maybe it’s just his masochistic tendencies. Whatever it is, it’s barely there, but he knows it means something.

The only missing link in all of his daydreams is Soonyoung: his biggest competitor, but also his most hardworking ally at the same time. Although other people keep pushing this whole “rivalry” between them, they actually work really well together. When they’re not comparing test scores in class, Jihoon often finds himself wishing Soonyoung would be his groupmate in projects. After all, he’s smart, and they handle a similar set of extracurriculars.

Although they’ve run on different parties for the past two years, they’ve never had to run against each other. Jihoon has no idea what Soonyoung’s plans are, and how exactly the boy fits into all of his. He knows there’s a first time for everything, and he’d be lying if he says he isn’t even a little scared. But he’ll cross the bridge when he gets there, he reassures himself.

“Jihoon, can we talk?”

It’s a month before election season when Soonyoung asks to meet him in the student council room after class. They don’t have a meeting that day, but since the officers like to stay in the office during their free time, Jihoon knows he can’t be late or else they’ll miss their chance.

Soonyoung hadn’t said what exactly he wanted to talk about, but Jihoon doesn’t have to ask. He’s known Soonyoung for three years—they’ve had classes together, headed projects together. He can recognize the pressure of the student body’s expectations when it’s standing right in front of him.

When he enters the room, Soonyoung is already there, smiling at him as if he has no worry in the world. They catch up, and even though the topic of elections has barely even been covered, Jihoon is already stressing over it in his own mind. The storm inside Jihoon’s brain only calms when Soonyoung drops the bomb.

“I think you should run for president.”

Soonyoung is smiling at him softly, his expression completely sincere. Jihoon is expecting a but, something to follow it up that’s supposed to make him feel uneasy.

“What?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I want to run. But I want to run with you.”

Time stops. Jihoon's heart is beating wildly in his chest, because _ what does this mean? _ His imagination fast tracks to campaign, then to senior year, wildly trying to place Soonyoung in there somehow, someway. 

But Jihoon’s still confused.

They’re in the same year, which means Soonyoung can easily just run against him instead of with him. He’s the more proactive one after all, the one that gets along with people easily and sets the mood for the team. Why give the position to Jihoon? Why is _he_ the one pushing him to run?

“You’re the right person for this. There’s no one else we’d trust—no one else _ I’d _trust.”

Soonyoung looks at him with so much sincerity, his words gentle but serious, and Jihoon doesn’t find it in himself to question him anymore. 

When Jihoon finally agrees to run for student council president, he doesn’t have to think twice about taking in Soonyoung as his vice president. After winning the elections, they immediately get to work, slipping into routine like it’s the most normal thing in the world. Maybe it is, after two years of working side by side.

Jihoon’s tired, but he’s glad to have him.

“You’re meeting with Soonyoung again? Just you two?”

Jihoon’s friends think it’s weird at first when Soonyoung keeps asking to meet him over the summer to work on their council projects. There are times when Jihoon himself questions why the boy rarely asks to include the other officers, always reassuring him that they’ll update the others online and that the entire council’s going to meet soon anyway. In the end, he’s just grateful his vice president is stepping up so much and fulfilling his role. It even makes him feel a little bad.

Soonyoung never lets him down. Ever since campaign, he’s done such a good job at being his vice president that Jihoon has never felt like he’s been carrying the load all on his own. Maybe it’s because they’re in the same year, or maybe it’s because Soonyoung’s simply the best vice president Jihoon could ever ask for. Whichever one it is, Jihoon knows he’s lucky, because having him by his side makes things so much easier.

So he lets Soonyoung be. Since Jihoon had wanted to rest after junior year, he doesn’t schedule any activities for the summer break, simply wanting to stay at home and do all the things he hadn’t been able to because of school. Like learn an entire piece on the piano, for one.

Writing, however, is a different matter.

It’s not that Jihoon had suddenly forgotten how to write during the school year. No, writing is easy. He had been in the poetry club, for God’s sake. In spite of his busy schedule, he had always made it a point to be at poetry club every Thursday. He had only ever missed meetings because of council work; but otherwise, he had been a loyal core member. 

He can find inspiration anywhere—that much, he’s sure of. However, it’s different being inspired when he’d usually spend ten hours at school, five days a week, only to come home to do paperwork, write essays, and study for tests. Jihoon wishes he could be the kind of writer that really puts his mind to it and immediately runs to his laptop whenever ideas come to him—but he isn’t, really.

Sometimes, words string together into unfamiliar verses in his head right when he’s on the verge of falling asleep. On school nights, when he’d be laying on his bed and sinking into the mattress like liquid, he’d allow the words to come so he could have some kind of grasp on who he used to be. Then the words would fade away.

However, it’s summer now, and with classes out of the way, he wishes that would change.

At poetry club, they’d be given a prompt every week by their adviser. Although he rarely ever shared his work at meetings, silently sitting near the wall, he would always write something according to the prompt. Without fail, he would have the piece hidden within the notes app on his phone, or tucked away on a printed document in his clipboard. Although those exercises weren’t required or graded, and Jihoon was no longer in the creative writing elective he had taken up the previous year, he did them religiously anyway. They gave him a sort of routine to stick to that helped keep him sane. 

Other than the club prompts, Jihoon had never really written in his own spare time. Now that he’s on break, he knows he finally has the chance. He just doesn’t know _ what _ to write about. All of the ideas he had stashed away in a compartment at the back of his mind are suddenly forgotten. _ But that’s fine_, he guesses. Instead, he focuses on other things, like the piano and council work.

Until it’s halfway through summer, and Jihoon still hasn’t written anything.

It’s ten in the evening and he’s still with Soonyoung. The two of them have been at the café for the past two or three hours, working on college applications after grabbing dinner together.

Dinner hadn’t been on the agenda at first. Neither had college applications, really, but when the summer sun had begun to set and Jihoon had started to pack up his things after they finished their council work, Soonyoung had asked if he wanted to have dinner together.

“Unless you’re busy after this? It’s totally fine, I just wanted to ask because, you know, why not.”

Jihoon hadn’t said at anything first, which had turned Soonyoung into a blabbering mess.

“Sorry, you probably are. I’ll get going now, thank you so much—”

“Okay, where do you want to eat?”

Soonyoung had been so surprised, Jihoon had asked himself if he really came off as _ that _ unfriendly. Soonyoung’s an extrovert through and through, so him asking people out to dinner should’ve been normal. The two of them got along pretty well, too. So why had the boy turned red all of a sudden?

The shock had faded off soon enough, and dinner had been fun. Soonyoung’s a naturally talkative person without being overbearing, so Jihoon hadn’t felt like wanting to die. When he’d brought up that he was just going to work on his college apps after, the boy had asked if he’d wanted to work on them together, reasoning that he could really use some help with his essays.

“You took up creative writing, right?”

“Yeah, and?”

“You’re good with words! Do me a favor, please?”

Soonyoung had been looking at him with such a hopeful look on his face, Jihoon didn’t have it in him to say no. His parents wouldn’t be home for a week anyway, so he didn’t have to be back soon.

The two of them had gone to another nearby café, different from the one they had been earlier. This one was cozier, with only one floor and dimmer lighting, but with a conducive atmosphere nonetheless. It wasn’t as busy as the previous one, and the boys sat across each other by the window, their laptops set up in front of them.

Now, it’s getting late, and both boys are tired, but neither of them has called it a day yet.

“Hey, Soonyoung, why can’t I find the application form on the website?”

“Which one? We’ve gone through so many, I’ve honestly lost count.”

Jihoon yawns, taking a sip of his drink. Soonyoung, thankfully, had been able to guess his order—hazelnut, of course—and had only needed confirmation before ordering for them when they’d entered. 

He keeps looking through the university’s official website, clicking on different tabs and typing in all sorts of keywords on the search bar. When he finally gives up, he only looks at Soonyoung with pleading eyes.

“Please? I just really need the application form so I can fill it up now while I’m sane. Please, Soon? So that I have a future?”

Soonyoung chuckles at that, looking up from his own laptop.

“Now you’re just being dramatic. Keep looking!”

“But I’ve looked everywhere!”

Soonyoung sighs, surprising him by getting up from his seat to walk over to him. Jihoon’s armchair isn’t big enough for the both of them, so he stares at Soonyoung, confused. The other boy only stares back at him.

“Scoot over, I’ll help.”

Jihoon scrunches his nose, but moves anyway until Soonyoung can just barely fit himself into the seat. Like this, there’s no way their bodies aren’t touching, with their legs lined up and faces close to each other. Soonyoung no longer speaks, only humming as he leans forward to navigate the laptop that isn’t his.

Jihoon isn’t uncomfortable, but he does feel a bit strange. He isn’t very physically affectionate with his friends, and even though he knows Soonyoung very well after working with each other for two years, this is the closest he has ever been to him.

“Maybe you’re just sleepy? There’s no way it’s not here.”

He doesn’t reply, observing him instead. He’s still a bit fazed at the closeness—from this angle, he can see how the bridge of his nose dips, how the lines and slopes of his face meet and separate. Jihoon has never thought anything of people’s cheeks, but from here, he can see how round Soonyoung’s are, as if he’d never grown out of puberty. He can see where bone juts out and how Soonyoung’s jaw is sharper than he had thought; how Soonyoung’s face thins out until it reaches his chin, and up close, it looks like he’s been taking care of skin better now than he had during the school year.

Jihoon turns his attention back to the screen and is surprised to see an application form before him.

“I told you it’d be there!”

Soonyoung faces him with a victorious smile, eyes disappearing as he beams with pride. Jihoon, however, is outraged.

“What? Where did you even find it? I swear, it was nowhere!”

“There was literally a link called ‘applications’ on the homepage, idiot.”

“What do you mean, ‘idiot’? I literally beat you in Physics last year!”

The boy laughs obnoxiously, only fueling the fire even more.

“Literally, how did you not see it? It was right there in front of you!”

“I hate you, go away.”

Jihoon tries to force Soonyoung out of his chair, pushing him like a child, but Soonyoung doesn’t budge. Jihoon knows he’s being petty, but he’s embarrassed and just wants to sulk in the comfort of his own seat. 

Of course, Soonyoung is inconsiderate and only stays, scooting even closer to him.

“Aw, are you embarrassed? It’s okay! It happens to the best of us, Jihoonie.”

He speaks with a playful tone, drawling his words as if talking to a child. He continues to laugh, unable to help himself. Jihoon is terribly, terribly annoyed, but all thoughts of killing him are gone when Soonyoung suddenly wraps an arm around his shoulders, hugging him playfully into silence.

Jihoon doesn’t move, and if Soonyoung notices, he doesn’t show it. He’s too busy making fun of him, and now he’s burying his face into Jihoon’s neck, and the awkward boy doesn’t know what do. Soonyoung’s laughs are muffled as he fondly holds onto him. Jihoon, unsure of how to react, decides to pretend he’s still annoyed. 

“Hey, get off me! You’re so annoying, I swear.”

For some reason, Soonyoung laughs even harder. 

“Just go back to your own apps or something! I can’t even breathe, God.”

Jihoon repeatedly hits Soonyoung’s arm around him, and the boy finally lets go of him, breathless. Their faces are still close to each other, as if both of them have forgotten the meaning of personal space—but in this moment, does it really matter? Soonyoung has the biggest smile on his face, and right when Jihoon thinks he’s finally calmed down, the boy starts to laugh again. Jihoon can’t help but laugh with him.

They’re two idiots, really, trying to fit into a tiny armchair and holding onto each other while laughing like they’re the happiest boys in the universe. It’s probably the pressure of college that’s caused them to go insane, or how they’ve been together for eight hours straight, and maybe Jihoon doesn’t want to be with Soonyoung alone anymore if they’ll always end up like this.

In between breaths and hugs, the words hit him. 

It’s all too sudden, and Jihoon pulls away properly to push Soonyoung out of his seat. When the boy finally moves back to his seat (albeit, a little sulkish), Jihoon is quick to take his laptop from the table.

“What are you doing?” Soonyoung asks curiously, holding his own laptop again.

“Filling up the form.” Jihoon lies.

Actually, he rushes to open a new document, typing as fast as his fingers can manage. Before he knows it, three verses stare back at him on the screen. It’s messy, and his thoughts are all over the place, but it’s a start. 

Jihoon tries to get back to his apps, thinking nothing of it for the rest of the night.

Ever since then, the two of them get a lot closer over the break, spending so much time together that Jihoon’s friends start to tease him about it. Seungcheol, for one, starts calling Soonyoung his “VP boyfriend.”

“You know we’re just friends!” Jihoon grumbles the third or fourth time he does it.

Seungcheol merely laughs at him. “Why are you so defensive?”

“Because we really are just working together!”

“If that’s so,” Wonwoo butts in, “then what are you two doing tomorrow?”

All his friends look at him expectantly, and Jihoon can only glare at them in return. It takes him a while to answer, trying his best to hide his embarrassment.

“...We’re having lunch at the new restaurant that opened beside the café we always meet at.”

Everyone around the table laughs. Although Jihoon’s ears turn pink and he lowers into his seat, he attempts not to mind them. _ What’s so wrong about gaining a new friend anyway? _

The thing is, Soonyoung isn’t even just any friend. He’s a friend that Jihoon has had around him nearly his entire high school life, always keeping his distance because he’d thought they wouldn’t click. 

He had been so wrong.

Soonyoung’s someone Jihoon has seen as both a dependable colleague and a strong competitor, but never someone he had thought he would open up to. So many people have viewed them as rivals that actually talking to him about anything that didn’t involve school or council had seemed weird before. Jihoon had tried at first to remain professional, but as the weeks pass and they get to know each other much better than he expects to, his mind changes.

Soonyoung makes him laugh. Soonyoung puts him at ease. But most important of all, Soonyoung actually motivates him to do better without ever making him feel pressured.

Jihoon realizes he’s made him feel that way ever since the night they had done their college apps together in that tiny café. Maybe it had been the act of doing something so mundane yet so nerve-wracking that would determine their futures. Jihoon’s quite the opposite of Soonyoung, and with him being an introvert, he’d never really planned on preparing for college with someone else—not even his friends.

But with Soonyoung, it’s okay, he learns. Soonyoung is safe. 

It surprises even himself that he doesn’t tire easily after spending time with the extrovert. Somehow, he finds calmness in his energy. Around him, Jihoon learns to let go, learns to make stupid jokes just like how he does. They do these while choosing undergraduate programs, writing proposals, even studying for the SATs. Jihoon has no idea how they ever get anything done when they’re together, but it’s so natural for him to slip into a comfortable working mindset with Soonyoung that he doesn’t dare question it.

However, Jihoon is just like any other teenager, so the work and the stress eventually get to him. At the end of the day, all the preparation seeps the energy out of him. When he walks home side by side with Soonyoung, he figures it’s the good kind of tired. He doesn’t feel drained, strangely enough. Instead, he feels a little more whole each day. A little more content.

Although there’s not really much that Jihoon busies himself with in the last few weeks of summer, he gets back into writing. He knows he doesn’t have much time left until school starts again, but he doesn’t stress himself. He fills his days with words, attributes even just one line or sentence to almost every little thing in his head. On good days, he constructs and edits whole essays; types out poems like it’s the only thing he knows how to do. On less-inspired ones, he sticks to phrases; fits little drabbles into his journal before they’re gone. He lets poems flow from his fingers, lets his words turn into ink, and for some reason, each day with Soonyoung makes it easier.

Jihoon has absolutely no idea why. He’s a little terrified, hoping it’s simply a coincidence; that it’s nothing else, nothing more. Soonyoung is safe, he reminds himself. Maybe he’s being selfish, but he doesn’t want that to change. He doesn’t want to risk losing him now that he’s gotten so used to his presence.

Summer flies by in a flash. It doesn’t take long for the new school year to roll around, and Jihoon finds himself in his last year of high school. Whereas a new school year usually calls for firsts, Jihoon keeps thinking about lasts; his last first day, last first official student council meeting of the school year.

The weeks pass by normally, just like how they would on any other year. 

Except, Jihoon finds himself constantly wishing he could go back to last summer.

“Hey, are you busy this Friday?”

It’s Monday yet again, and Jihoon is walking to first period where he has History with Soonyoung. The taller boy easily falls into step with him, unfazed by the chattering noise that surrounds them in the hallway.

“I have two tests in the morning and then research in the afternoon, so I’ll probably just be stuck in the library again.” Jihoon doesn’t have to think about his answer, this week’s schedule already ingrained in his mind. They pass by the lockers, where even more students loiter while waiting for the bell to ring. He starts to quicken his pace, speaking again. “Why, do you want to set a meeting then?”

“Oh, no,” Soonyoung quickly replies, “I just wanted to know if you have anything after school.”

“I was supposed to work on the English project with Jun, but he asked to meet on Thursday instead, so no, not really.”

They finally enter their classroom, where only a few students are in their seats. Some boys are joking around at the back, but the rest are running late. The bell finally rings, and they take their seats next to each other in the second row.

“Well, I have a proposition for you.” Soonyoung says, facing him completely.

Jihoon looks at him properly for the first time this morning. He observes how his half-closed eyes look puffy, how tufts of hair stand up at random places on his head. Soonyoung looks like the perfect example of a senior nearly halfway into the year, except he actually shows up to his classes on time.

“Ask me what it is!” Soonyoung whines, smiling a little.

“You’re so annoying,” Jihoon rolls his eyes, “just tell me what your so-called proposition is.”

The smile on Soonyoung’s face grows wider. 

“The café across the street is having a spoken word night on Friday. Do you want to go together?”

Although he’s not sure why, Jihoon is actually surprised. It’s been a while since the two of them had last gone out together. The past two months had steadily gotten busier and busier, until the only times Jihoon ever saw Soonyoung were in class and at meetings. 

It’s not _ that _ drastic of a change, since they still see each other nearly every day; but after having spent most of his summer with him, it’s only natural that Jihoon had grown attached. Jihoon likes routine. Jihoon likes consistency. After two months of familiarizing himself with the way Soonyoung speaks, the way his eyes disappear when he laughs, the way his hands flail around everywhere when he tells a story, Jihoon is slightly bothered now that he’s slipped out of routine.

It’s all too easy for him to say yes.

“I just remembered you mentioning it before, that you’ve never been to one but want to. And I don’t know, you seem to really like that place, and maybe—”

“Okay.”

That immediately shuts him up. Their teacher walks in right at that moment, and Jihoon gives Soonyoung a reassuring smile before turning in his seat to face the board again.

Jihoon’s probably a little more excited than necessary, thinking about late night coffee and frustrated poets even when their teachers begins the lesson, but he’ll worry about that later. He spends all of his time worrying, anyway. For now, he only wants to dream.

Friday doesn’t come soon enough, and Jihoon is speedily walking to the café in his favorite oversized shirt tucked into an old pair of jeans. He doesn’t bother all that much with his clothes since he’ll be sitting down all night, and it’s not like he’ll be performing anyway. 

He’s half an hour early since he doesn’t want to risk losing his favorite spot, and when he sees Soonyoung come in at eight o’clock sharp, he finds himself smiling almost instantly. Seeing him in a setting outside of school puts him at ease, and right now, all he can think about is how grateful he is for the chance to unwind after another draining week.

“Sorry I’m late,” Soonyoung says, sliding into the seat in front of him, smiling.

“You’re right on time,” Jihoon says lightly, starting to get more excited now that Soonyoung’s here.

They easily slip into conversation, talking about poetry and people and everything else. They pointedly avoid topics that involve school or college or council, knowing that none of those matter right now. Together, they can pretend that there’s nothing else that they have to do or worry about. The program is only two hours long, and as the first performer comes up on stage, Jihoon tries his best to make the two hours last forever.

They immediately fall into silence when it starts, only talking to each other in between performances. It’s their first time attending a spoken word event, but they quickly learn from the crowd, reacting to the performances in their own ways. Soonyoung is hyped as always, snapping his fingers and hooting along with other people in the audience at particularly dramatic lines. Jihoon, meanwhile, mostly keeps his thoughts to himself, humming quietly at his favorite parts and only commenting on the pieces whenever the next performer is setting up.

“Hi! Uh, how’s everyone doing?”

The crowd hushes into a low hum as the last performer timidly clears his voice. He’s tall, not looking far from Jihoon’s age. His arms hang by his sides, and although he stands confidently, Jihoon can see how his hands slightly shake with nervousness.

“This piece wasn’t written to be performed, actually. It’s just something that I made at two in the morning and posted online without thinking, and a week later, hundreds of people had read it. Except the person I had written it for.”

A low _ ooh _ comes from the audience, and he smiles shyly. He seems to gain confidence from the reaction, and continues.

“But they’re here now.”

Some people gasp, and he no longer says anything, taking a few steps back from the mic to close his eyes and take a breath. Jihoon is more interested now, unsure of what to expect. The performer opens his eyes and steps forward. 

“I was never really good at Physics.”

His voice is clear as it echoes around the café, so many people fitting into the small space. Across Jihoon, Soonyoung mumbles a little too loudly for his liking.

“Same.” 

“Shut up.”

Jihoon looks away from the performer to glare at him, and Soonyoung is too startled to say anything. Both of them turn their attention back to the stage, curious as the boy continues.

“Maybe if I try harder, I could do a lot better than barely pass. But when my mind is filled with words and daydreams and hopes and you, it’s almost impossible for me to remember natural laws and calculated numbers we see as capital T, Truth.”

The performer doesn’t project his voice all that much, but the timbre in his tone is rich, natural, sinking into the ground as he easily captures everyone’s attention. Jihoon wraps his head around it, allows the story to envelope him.

“So I memorize them. I memorize the gravitational constant, capital _ G_, six point six seven four, times ten to the negative eleven, meters cubed over kilogram second squared. I memorize that mouthful as big _ G_, because big _ G _ is different from Earth’s gravity small _ g_. So I memorize small _ g _ as nine point eight meters per second squared.”

He takes a breath, slow, calm, and Jihoon waits to hear more. He knows these facts from class, knows them by heart since Physics is his favorite. The performer enunciates them so quickly, and yet the numbers still sound clear as day even if not everyone knows what they mean.

“I memorize these numbers and letters but I don’t understand them—not really, not at all. I memorize the speed of light, small _ c_, as two nine nine, seven nine two, four five eight meters per second. I memorize Einstein’s cosmological constant, capital lambda, in the order negative one hundred twenty two in Planck units, even though my teacher says not to remember it since it’s not in the test anyway.” The crowd laughs, and the performer smiles for a second before growing serious. “I memorize the number of breaths it takes to calm myself down whenever you’re around, and sometimes it’s five, sometimes it’s fifteen, but it’s never enough.”

Jihoon smiles. He can feel the excitement thrumming in the audience within his chest, somewhere along the expanse of his shoulders, and he leans forward to listen more intently. He chances a glance at Soonyoung to the right who sits across the table. Their eyes meet, and they smile.

“I memorize where you’re seated in class, in the second row and second column, three seats away from me diagonally. It’s constant, unchanging, and even though there’s no proper seating arrangement, you sit there every single time anyway. _ I _ am constant, unchanging, and I never muster the courage to sit next to you.

“Our teacher, Mr. Park, mentioned the multiverse theory once; how there is an infinite number of parallel realities and we only live in one among them. I was never good at Physics, but whenever I sit behind you in class, I always feel like you’re universes away. Instead of calculating the force of attraction between Earth and the moon, instead, I calculate the force of attraction between my feet and the ground, because no matter how many times I think of doing it, I never get myself to walk up to you. I wonder if I memorized gravity wrong, because I always feel like something else is weighing me down when it comes to you.”

Jihoon feels it before he sees it. Out of the corner of his eye, he can sense someone looking at him. He tries to ignore it, tries to focus on the performer’s voice, on the story he weaves through numbers. But as the minutes tick by, his neck starts to itch with the need to turn and look. It’s bothersome, and the pair of eyes flit back and forth to look at him then look away again. 

Slowly, Jihoon no longer registers the words. He attempts, again and again, to lose himself in the poetry, in the smell of coffee that permeates around him. But he’s restless, and he can no longer resist.

“Why are you looking at me?” he asks in a low voice, finally facing Soonyoung.

Soonyoung’s eyes widen, obviously not expecting him to notice.

“Nothing,” he says, but Jihoon isn’t convinced. “It’s nothing, sorry, just listen.”

Jihoon doesn’t really want to listen, more engrossed now in the boy next to him than the one onstage, but he doesn’t fight it. He’s slightly annoyed, but he’s more curious than anything. Thinking he can tease Soonyoung about it later after all of the performances, he begins to listen again.

“I’ve memorized numbers, and letters, and I’ve tried to memorize you. But you are more than a person, you are your own range of universes, of infinite possibilities contained within a single being. I study, and I study, and I can never get enough of learning about the lines in your palms, the freckles on your cheeks, the doodles on your wrist. I was never good at Physics, so I memorize numbers instead. But I never understand them—not really, not even at all, but I want to understand you.”

The performer steps away from the mic, smiling shyly to himself as he walks back to his seat. The audience claps for him, several people calling his name loudly in excitement. Jihoon realizes he had been too distracted to notice if people had snapped their fingers throughout the piece, if the performer had been able to make people laugh.

He’s too late, and it’s over, and he’s left thinking about the multiple dimensions in _ his _reality.

He’s heard of all of those concepts and constants before, but it’s different hearing about them from someone that isn’t licensed to geek out in front of sleep-deprived teenagers at seven in the morning every week. No, it’s ten in the evening, and Jihoon is only surrounded by strangers of different ages, different lives. Some of them might not have recognized _ anything _ that had been mentioned in the poem, but everyone had listened anyway, captivated by the telling of a story they’d never heard that way before.

Even though Jihoon hadn’t been able to hear the whole thing, he can’t help but feel a little amazed; most people he knows hate Physics with a passion, and the guy that had just left the stage must have been one of them. And yet, he had gotten all of these people to listen, to try to understand.

_ That’s the power of words_, Jihoon thinks. Even though he loves Physics, he knows science is nothing without communication. Even as someone who secretly prides himself off of being a writer, he has never thought of connecting these two worlds together himself, much less presenting it to a bunch of strangers.

“Wow,” he breathes out finally, still thinking of what to say as he faces Soonyoung.

The boy is silent as well, looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face. Jihoon assumes he’s also stunned by the piece, momentarily forgetting that he had been the reason he had gotten distracted midway. 

When he’s gathered his thoughts together and is confident enough to express his thoughts, he begins to speak.

“That was good, don’t you think?”

He smiles softly at Soonyoung, and he can see the corners of his lips lilt upward. This encourages Jihoon to continue, not minding the time nor the people getting up around them to leave.

“I’ve read poems before that use scientific concepts, like anatomy, and shooting stars. But he did well, _ really _well. He was very natural.”

Soonyoung hums, facing him fully now. He takes a sip from his drink and nods to let Jihoon continue.

“I recognized the poetry techniques he used, like the parallelism and repetition. Also the dynamics, where he speeds up then suddenly stops, or talks softly at first then raises his voice later on before going quiet again. But I think what I liked best was that he sounded like he was just telling a story, in a way? So even if I know he’s using poetry techniques, it feels like he’s just talking to us, to the audience.”

Soonyoung is still lost in thought, only looking at him while agreeing.

Belatedly, Jihoon adds, “I never really thought of relating big _ G _ to a crush before, though. But he pulled it off.”

Unable to help it, Soonyoung chuckles, and now he seems more alive than he had before. Jihoon welcomes it wholeheartedly, laughing himself. 

They slip into silence, and it’s comfortable enough that Jihoon doesn’t fidget like he usually does when he’s left to his own thoughts. The usual worrywart in him is appeased for now, and he takes everything in now that the place has quieted down. This café is his safe space, and now he feels like his world has gone back to normal.

“You know what?” Soonyoung suddenly says, his voice soft.

Jihoon looks up, not moving from his seat. He doesn’t bother to lean in closer, allowing the words to wash over him from this distance.

“Hm?” he only hums, giving him a gentle smile.

“That poem kind of reminded me of you.”

The world around him pauses. Jihoon doesn’t register the music playing on the store sound system anymore; doesn’t hear the sound when ceramic hits wood or the names being called out.

“What do you mean?” he asks hesitantly, unsure of what Soonyoung will answer.

“That’s how I feel about you, sometimes. That’s why I kept looking at you. It just felt so weird having someone take the words from my mouth and claim it’s his story when it feels too much like my own.”

He’s smiling at him gently, but Jihoon doesn’t understand. He still doesn’t know what to make of it all, what to take from him. His reality shifts, and he’s left confused.

“Soonyoung,” he says slowly, “what are you trying to say?”

Jihoon is sitting up straight now, all too aware of every little thing Soonyoung does. He tries to catch the expression in his eyes, the way his fingers are unsteady around his mug of coffee. But Soonyoung is still Soonyoung, the one Jihoon knows, and he waits for an answer.

Soonyoung takes a sip from his mug, looking away for a moment before setting it down again.

“I like you, Jihoon. Haven’t you noticed?”

Jihoon is taken back to summer afternoons spent working in cafés all around town, the two of them wanting to try out new ones every time, but usually ending up in this one anyway. He’s brought back to cool nights spent talking about anything and everything, worrying about their futures but feeling a little reassurance knowing they were worrying about it together. He thinks of Soonyoung squinting under the bright sun, Soonyoung munching on his favorite rice meals while talking about his siblings, Soonyoung wiping the sleepiness away from his eyes while trying to write five hundred-word essays at midnight. 

Jihoon thinks about _ this _ Soonyoung, the one sitting in front of him right now, eyes soft and looking at him without any urgency. This Soonyoung that had grown in three years right before his eyes, the same Soonyoung that he used to compete with for the top-scorer in their Physics tests, the same Soonyoung he thought he’d have to run against for president last year.

His vice president. His supporter. His friend. 

“Jihoon?” the boy asks when he hasn’t spoken for too long, breaking the silence.

He doesn’t have to think about what he says next. He suspects he’s known it for a while now, it’s just taken him months and a poem to realize it.

“I like you too, Soon. I have since last summer.”

Shock registers into Soonyoung’s features, but then he smiles. Not much needs to be said then, because they understand. Although Jihoon loves words and Soonyoung never has a hard time talking endlessly, they both stop for a while to just listen to the world. They listen to the way their hearts beat in their chests, to the cars that drive past outside, and time starts again.

They’ve entered another reality now, and they’re in it together.

They make it official a month after confessing to each other in the tiny café. It had been expected, of course, but they’re two giggling idiots who can’t help but blush when they agree to be a couple.

“I love how I can _ officially _ hold your hand now. I can _ officially _ ask you out on dates, and _ officially _ show you off.” Soonyoung can’t keep the excitement from his voice, sounding like he’s trying to annoy Jihoon on purpose.

“No showing off, Soon. I’m worried what people might think. I don’t want them to doubt whether or not we can still do our jobs now that two of their student council officers are dating.”

“We worked in student council two years before getting together! Two years too late, if you ask me.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes at him, choosing not to answer.

“Okay, fine, no showing off. I know how people talk anyway. But a little Tweet or Instagram post on special occasions won’t hurt, right? Word travels fast, so everyone’s gonna find out eventually.”

“Fine,” Jihoon says, smiling at him again. “And yes to the handholding. And the dates.”

“You mean _ official _ handholding. _ Official _ dates.”

“You’re so annoying. I mean, we’ve already been acting like boyfriends.” Jihoon says, trying to act nonchalant. Inside, he’s practically freaking out at the thought that he has a _ boyfriend _ now.

“I don’t think I’m ever gonna get used to that.” Soonyoung beams, the biggest smile on his face.

“Get used to what?”

“Calling you my boyfriend.”

Jihoon, unsure of how to deal with the way his stomach flips, hits Soonyoung’s arm. It’s meant to be light, but the way Soonyoung pulls away to groan indicates that Jihoon had probably underestimated himself.

“What was that for?” Soonyoung whines.

“I actually think my heart skipped a beat for a second there. You need to stop that.”

Soonyoung removes his grasp from his arm and laughs, pulling his seat closer to press his cheek against Jihoon’s shoulder. This way, Jihoon has to dip his chin to look at him, and Soonyoung’s eyes are wide and fond when they meet.

“That’s the cheesiest shit I’ve heard. You have to get used to it, _ boyfriend. _”

Just like that, Jihoon knows they’ll be okay.

Well, maybe not completely okay. It only takes him a week to start doubting himself again. Although he tries not to, he can’t help but worry about what people will say when they find out they’re together. He’s worked hard in the student council for nearly three years, and he doesn’t want his efforts discredited now that he’s dating his vice president.

It’s scandalous, yes, but he knows Soonyoung, and he knows himself. They’re teenagers just like everyone else, but they know better than to do anything reckless and put the student council at risk. They’re smarter than that, and he hopes other people know that too.

But on top of it all, he’s terrified of how their student council adviser will react the most. 

Miss Lee, a woman in her mid-twenties, has been their adviser ever since Jihoon entered student council. Intelligent and passionate, she’s the best adviser Jihoon could have ever asked for. However, he has no idea what she’ll think when she finds out.

Will she be disappointed in him? Will she disapprove of their relationship?

“Okay, guys, meeting adjourned.”

He’s just wrapped up a student council meeting when Miss Lee walks over to him from the other end of the table. The rest of the officers are already leaving, and Soonyoung notices them.

“Hey, Jihoon, can I talk to you alone? Don’t worry, just give me five minutes.” Miss Lee says.

Soonyoung says goodbye to Miss Lee, and whispers to Jihoon, “I’ll wait for you outside, okay?”

Jihoon only nods before turning back to their adviser.

“Sure, Miss Lee, what do you need to talk about? Is everything okay with the Christmas fundraiser proposal we sent you?”

“Oh, no, the proposal’s fine. I’ll send it to you guys with my comments by tomorrow morning. I actually wanted to talk about something else.”

“Oh. Okay?”

Miss Lee has a smile on her face, yet it’s different from the ones he usually sees. It looks like she knows something he doesn’t, and Jihoon becomes anxious.

“I know this is completely outside of student council matters, but I trust you, so I just wanted to ask if you’re seeing someone?”

“Oh!” Jihoon laughs awkwardly, trying not to look shocked, or embarrassed, or like he absolutely wants to die right at this moment.

“You don’t have to tell me!” Miss Lee says in a hurried tone. “I’ve just seen you grow in the three years I’ve had you as one of my officers, so I just got curious when I heard!”

“Oh, you heard?” Jihoon starts to panic.

“Doesn’t matter where I heard it from. Jihoon, is it true?”

Jihoon coughs, trying to clear his throat awkwardly. He forces a smile on his face while he quickly tries to think of what to say.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Lee.”

“What? Why are you saying sorry?”

He tries to put on a brave facade, going the professional route.

“Soonyoung and I just started dating a few weeks ago, and I know you’re probably concerned, but I promise we won’t do anything to put the council at risk. The situation is probably not ideal, and we should know better, but I swear we’ll keep our personal lives away from our work.”

He knows he’s rambling, but he can’t help it. Disappointing Miss Lee is the last thing he ever wants to do as president.

“Wait, wait, Jihoon, wait.” she stops him before he can go any further. “What do you mean ‘not ideal’? Do you really think I’d think that?”

Jihoon tries to answer, but he stutters. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to disappoint you, Miss.”

“Disappoint me?” she repeats, completely surprised. “You can’t disappoint me without actually do anything wrong.”

That renders him speechless. 

“I know you, Jihoon, and I know Soonyoung. You are two of the most hardworking, most intelligent boys I’ve met, and every year, I’m grateful I get to work with you. You’ve set my standards for student leaders in this school.”

He can tell in the way she speaks that she’s being sincere, and he’s at a loss for words. For the past few years, Jihoon has received many kind words from students and teachers about his leadership. But this, coming from his own adviser that he respects so much, is probably the most fulfilling comment he’s ever received in his entire high school life.

“Thank you so much, Miss Lee.” he wills himself to say something, not wanting to be rude. “I don’t know what to say. It means so much. I won’t let you down.”

She laughs good-naturedly, and he can’t help but laugh as well.

“Just no funny business in this room, okay?”

“Not planning on it!” he quickly reassures her, his face reddening.

“Lord knows what sorts of things I’ve heard from the teachers about Jeonghan and his boyfriend when he had been president.”

Jihoon doesn’t even have to ask, only blushing when he promises not to do anything against school rules in the student council room. Or anywhere on campus, really.

But he’s glad. No, he’s _ relieved_, because he’s just found out that his own adviser believes in him more than he believes in himself. When they part ways, he tells Soonyoung what she had said about Jeonghan while they walk home, and Soonyoung can’t help but crack up on the sidewalk.

“I knew I never should have left the two of them alone in the room after class!” Jihoon whines, now even angrier than he had already been at his former president.

“Aw, don’t blame yourself, babe.” Soonyoung placates him, putting his arm around his shoulder. “At least you’ve never actually witnessed them.”

Jihoon stops in his tracks, arching his neck to look at him.

“Are you saying you have?”

When Soonyoung laughs instead of answering, Jihoon starts walking faster, making it his personal mission to somehow get back at Jeonghan for making his and everyone else’s lives hell.

A week after that, when they have another meeting, Jihoon decides to finally come clean to the rest of the council about his relationship with Soonyoung. Although he doesn’t _ have _ to tell them, at least not all of them at once, he feels like he owes it to them to be honest. After all, they should probably be aware their president and vice president are dating in case they have a problem with it.

Jihoon knows it’s not like they’ll ask them to break up or anything, but in case it interferes with their work, he wants his officers to feel like they can talk to him honestly.

“Okay, looks like everyone’s here.” he starts, placing his hands on the table. “Before we start, I have an announcement to make.”

He looks around the room, growing nervous. Miss Lee is absent today, so it’s a little less awkward for him, at least. When his eyes meet Soonyoung’s at the other end of the table, the boy smiles at him, and that’s all he needs to feel reassured.

“Soonyoung and I are together now.”

Soonyoung actually, honest to God, _ chokes_, and there are mixed reactions from different parts of the table.

“I think all of us already knew, boss.” Seungkwan chuckles.

“Wait, together, as in, _ together_? Or?” Seokmin asks.

The other officers laugh. Seungkwan hits Seokmin on the back of his head, and the poor boy can only look at the others innocently.

“Okay, maybe not all of us.” Seungkwan rolls his eyes.

They almost immediately move on with the meeting proper after getting over their initial shock at Jihoon’s sudden confession. Although Jihoon isn’t surprised his officers are so nonchalant about it, he hadn’t expected them to accept it that easily. Word travels faster than he thinks, apparently.

When everyone’s left after the meeting, Soonyoung actually hits him, saying he hadn’t expected him to be so blunt with the others. Jihoon knows it’s very unlike himself to be that upfront, especially in a group of people, but right now, he doesn’t really care. All he knows is that he feels lighter, like a weight’s been taken off his shoulders.

“Wanna go on a date with me this weekend?” he asks instead.

Soonyoung looks at him for a moment.

“What am I supposed to do? Say no?”

Then it’s his turn to hit his boyfriend, but he’s happy nonetheless.

Of everything that happens in his final year of high school, getting a boyfriend may be the one Jihoon had least expected.

The last school bell for the day has just rung, and students rush out into the hallways, eager to go home or to whatever club meeting they have to be at. Here, in the student council room, Jihoon and Soonyoung have all the time in the world. The rest of the student council will be arriving in around five minutes, give or take. Over time, Jihoon has learned how long five minutes can actually be. 

Being with Soonyoung for the past few months has taught him how to stretch minutes into worlds apart; how to turn time fluid and to simply exist as is. As Soonyoung’s hand warmly envelops his underneath the wooden meeting table, Jihoon knows he can take his time. He decides what the numbers on the clock mean, and today, he decides that they mean _ enough_; for he can only be content with how is now.

He decides that although college acceptance letters and yearbook dedication pages beg to differ, he has all the time in the world. He knows that in at least one reality among infinite possibilities, this moment can go on and on and on as long as he likes, and he decides that_ this _ is that reality.

That’s why he’s here, with his vice president sitting a teeny tiny bit too close, but not doing anything actually suspicious. They exchange words and comfort and familiarity in the air between them, and there’s nowhere else Jihoon would rather be.

Seeing as it’s only the two of them inside the small, cramped office, anyone passing by who looks through the window might question what they’re doing. But they know there’s nothing wrong with just catching up. 

Since they’re seniors, they’ve had their finals way ahead of the underclassmen. This probably explains why the rest of their council members are running late, catching up on all of their deadlines and whatnot. For the two boys, not even their incomplete graduation requirements are on their minds. 

The agenda for their meeting (which is about to start any minute now) lingers, since it can’t really be avoided with their constantly working mindsets. However, even that is set aside for now, because this is their first time simply enjoying each other’s presence in two weeks. 

They’re throwing around questions, like, _ What score did you get on Mr. Jung’s essay?_; or, _ Didn’t you find the Physics final scarily too easy?_; or, _ How’s your performance for the upcoming dance club showcase?_; or, _ Don’t you want to perform at the last open mic for this year? _ They ask each other anything and everything, and find each other in between phrases, between breaths.

“Hey, guys! How are my favorite bosses?”

The door flings open, and the two startle, momentarily separating before they start to gravitate towards each other again. Their secretary, Seokmin, walks in with a bright smile on his face.

“Seokmin, hi! How has my favorite third year been?” Soonyoung chirps up, slipping into conversation with ease. His eyes light up, and Jihoon only sits back, giving Seokmin a fond smile of his own.

The younger boy chuckles, as if he’s in on the joke.

“Busy, definitely. Finals are coming up next week.” He sets his backpack down on one of the shelves and takes his laptop out, taking a seat near them. “Oh, you two are done with yours, right?”

Both seniors nod happily.

Jihoon thinks back to how close he is to graduation, to how close he is to closing this chapter of his life. Now, as he sits in the room where he’s had countless meetings over the past three years and where his boyfriend is currently sitting next to him, he can’t help but marvel at how fast time has flown by.

Yeah, boyfriend. He doesn’t think he’ll ever quite get used to that.

This time last year, he had been running in the annual school elections for the third consecutive time with Soonyoung and the rest of their party. This time last year, he had never thought he’d ever hear himself calling his vice presidential candidate (soon-to-be elected vice president) his _ boyfriend_. 

Yet here they are. Happy, finals-free, and as cheesy as it sounds, in love. It’s the plot twist Jihoon had never seen coming, only being rivalled by getting accepted by his dream university.

Well, in terms of amazing plot twists, maybe it competes with Soonyoung also being accepted by his own dream university just a few minutes away from Jihoon’s.

Maybe having someone to study for the SATs with had helped. Although Jihoon had never really believed in destiny, if someone were to tell him that all of this had been planned out from the beginning, he wouldn’t even dare to question them. 

Maybe he had been meant to end up in the student council for three years with Soonyoung. Maybe they both had been meant to aim to study in the same city thousands of miles away. Maybe they both had been meant to ace all of their exams and get different scholarships both locally and abroad.

Whatever it is, Jihoon’s just grateful.

“Alright, is everyone here? I think we can start.”

The other student council officers have taken their seats, watching him expectantly as a few of them nod in agreement. He looks at Soonyoung to his right, and neither of them can help it. They smile at each other shyly before turning their attention to the agenda on the board.

“Okay, let’s get this meeting started.”

**Author's Note:**

> many thanks to skye for beta-ing this fic for me!! 
> 
> title from crazy in love by svt! hmu on [ twitter](https://twitter.com/yellowkims) :D


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